Automatic fire-extinguisher for railway-car stoves



(No Model.)

J. A. GUINN. AUTOMATIC FIRE BXTINGUISHER FOR RAILWAY GAR STOVES. No.441,156 Patented Nov. 25, 1890.

PVz'messes: I 1 m/emor '4 UNITED STATES P TENT OFFI E.

JOHN ALEXANDER GUINN, OF ANGUS. IOWVA.

- AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER FOR RAILWAY-CAR STOVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,156, dated November25, 1890.

Serial No. 246,457- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN ALEXANDER GUINN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Angus, in the county of Boone .and'

State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Fire-EX- tinguishers for Railway-Oar Stoves; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to automatic fire-extinguishers for railway-carstoves.

The object is to produce a swift, sure, and safe means of extinguishingthe fire in railway-car stoves in case of an accident.

With these objects in view the invention consists in a reservoir orcylinder subdivided into two compartments, the lower one beingfilled-with water or some other suitable fluid for extinguishing fire,the upper one with compressed air, the two being separated by a floatingpiston-head, a pipe leading from the bottom of said reservoir to thefire-pot in the stove, the said pipe having a valve placed between thereservoir and the stove.

The invention furthermore consists in a reservoir containing water orany other fluid suitable for extinguishing fire,a pipe leading from thebottom of said reservoir to the firepot in the stove, the saidpipehaving a gatevalve placed upon it between the reservoir and stove, and aball or weight designed to open said valve by falling, as in case of anaccident, thus allowing the water or fluid from the reservoir to flow inupon the fire and extinguish it, and, finally, in various other detailsof construction, as hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and inwhich like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1is'a side elevation of the invention, showing the cylinder or reservoirin position in the end of the car,with the upper part of said cylindercut away to" show the floating piston-head, the air-pressure gageattached to the side of the said cylinder near the top, the pipe leadingfrom the reservoir 50 to the fire-pot in the stove, the valve attachedto said pipe, and a lever or arm to operate the valve and regulate theflow of water, together with a weight or ball, and a chain or ropedesigned to operate the said arm in case of an accident. Fig. 2 is adetail view of the gate-valve. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of thefloating piston-head on larger scale than Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A represents the cylinder attached to the side or inthe corner of a car, said cylinder being provided with two compartments,the upper compartment a being designed to contain compressed air and thelower one a to contain Water or other suitable fluid for extinguishingfire, the two compartments being separated by a floating piston-head (1,consisting of a disk a made of suitable metal having sufficient rigidityfor the purpose and provided with an upwardextending flange or rim aaround its edge. The upper compartment is also provided with anair-pressure gage A, placed on the side of said compartment near thetop.

At or near the bottom of the lower compartment 0, is a cook a, the samebeing designed as an inlet for the fluid whenthe chamber is to befilled.

In the center'of the top or cap of the cylin inder or on the side nearthe top is a cook a provided with a threaded nozzle designed to engagethe threaded collar of the hose or pipe of an air-pump or other suitablecontrivance designed to compress air at a high pressure, so that in theprocess of charging the chamber said pipe will be held in position.

At the lower side of the waterrchamber a is a pipe B, connecting thesaid chamber with the fire-pot of the stove. The pipe B is provided witha gate-valve b, said valve being placed on the pipe between the cylinderand stove and on or nearly on a level with the top of the body of firein the stove in order to be easily within reach.

b is the valve-spindle, threaded, as shown, at its end, and providedwith a threaded thumbnut 6 having legs adapting it to be turned by thethumb and finger.

Pivoted on the bracket 17 which rises from the body of the valve-seat isa lever b, one end of which embraces and is connected with the toothumb-nut b the object of the latter being to adjust the throw of thelever in relation to the valve and the valve-seat, for it'is evidentthat if the thumb-nut be screwed downward the valve will be raised morethan if the nut were higher on the valve-spindle.

1n the end of the lever b is an opening b by which means the rope orchain may be attached to the lever. This rope or chain extends downwardthrough a tube 0, attached to the delivery-pipe in the top of thereservoir, and 1s fastened to aweight D, seated in a cupshaped disk E.The disk being lower in the center than at the edges will naturallysecure the ball or weight in order to prevent its position being changedby the ordinary vibration of the car while running; but when therunmug-gear changes its position to any great extent with reference tothe car-bodyas, for instance, when the running-gear leaves thetrack-such change of position in the runping-gear will naturally throwthe ball from its position, and in falling will open the valve b, andthus allow the water or fluid to flow in upon the fire and extinguishit.

To make this invention operative the lower compartment of the cylinderor reservoir (1 is filled with water or other fluid suitable forextinguishing fire by means of the cock at, and when filled the cock isclosed, care being taken to introduce the water in such a man-' ner thatthe piston-head will remain on its surface and rise with it. The hose orpipe of an air-pump or other suitable contrivance designed to compressair at a high pressure is then attached to the nozzle of the cock a inthe cap or top or on the side near the top of the cylinder a. Thechamber is then charged with air until a pressure sufiicient toinsurethe perfect working of the apparatus has been obtained. The cock a isthen closed. It is to be distinctly understood that the airpressure isnot derived or in any way connected with theair-brakes. After thereservoirs have been so charged the apparatus is ready for operation. Iffrom any cause the running-gear should assume an abnormal position withreference to the car-body, the weight D will be thrown from its positionin the cup-shaped disk E, and in falling will open the valve 1), and thecompressed air in the chamber a), acting upon the floating piston-heada, will force the fluidor water contained in the chamber a through thepipe B to the fire-pot in the stove with great force, thus quicklyextinguishing the fire.

The cylinder or reservoir should be made of some material capable ofwithstanding the pressure requisite to the perfect working of theinvention, preferably of copper or some alloy of the same, with itsinterior smoothly finished, in order that the floating piston-head maymove easily when the air-pressure is brought to bear upon saidpiston-head. The piston-head should be made of some non-corrosi vemetal, preferably copper, and surrounded on its periphery by a flange orrim much wider than the thickness of the piston-head and fitted snuglyinthe cylinder to prevent its assuming an improper position with referenceto the cylinder when the position of said cylinder is changed by anaccident.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by 7 Letters Patent, is-- Anapparatus for extinguishing fire in railway-car stoves, comprising areservoir divided horizontally by a floating piston, the upper parthaving a valve or cockv to cause it to hold air under pressure and thelower part adapted to contain liquid, a valved pipe leading from theliquid-chamber to the stove, a valve-stem extending upward from saidvalve and having an adjustable stop, and a valveoperating mechanismcomprising a lever pivoted on a bracket-arm and having a slidingconnection with the valve-stem at one end and carrying a chain at theother, a guidetube for said chain, and a poised weight on the chain,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afflx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ALEXANDER GUINN. Witnesses:

E1). ANDERSON, JOHN M. JAMES.

